india – helen sill

As the year draws to close..what a great couple of weeks I have had. Being part of the final exhibition Finalelement at the Otter Gallery was amazing. The show looked great and was well attended. Sadly the last ever exhibition at the Otter Gallery in Chichester

Shisha Slow Stitch workshop in February – see info below

I held a wonderful creative workshop with Liss in Stitches Textile Group (my great textile group) on the 24th November. We loosened up with

some drawing exercises which were fun and based on the Dorothy Edwards books ..drawing from the right side of the brain and then used lots of old materials to make in to a something new……the results as you can see were varied and stunning…..looking forward toseeing the finished pieces

Last weekend I managed to cram in a weekend away with him indoors wandering round Venice and soaking up the beautiful light and of course sampling the pasta. Fortunately that’s all the soaking we did as the floods had recinded by then. Stayed in a great central apartment and went on lots of Vaporettos.. …him in doors is still bound to his mobility scooter which we couldn’t take on Easy Jet .Consequently after a speed boat on to the island (very James Bond!) we ambled everywhere with him on crutches ….and I sat and drank cappuccinos and did some boro ……check out my instagram mycathasniceboots. ( We also got to go on one of those trucks at the airport..great fun!! and you get to board the airplane first!!!Not really worth smashing your leg up for but great fun nonetheless ).

The plane had hardly landed in blighty before I was off again on an M25 sojourne (it’s not really a road is it??) to the wonderful Art Van Gogh..bit of a pilgrimge as I’ve never manged to make it to the actual Studios before. It was a doddle to get to Knebworth though and lovley to hone my kantha skills and learn more abou it with Dorothy Tucker. I’ve bought Dorothy’s book on Embroidered Pictures and John Gillow’s on Kantha..oh dear..early Christmas pressies for moi….

A wonderful tutor and great to talk to her about my current work. It was also lovely to see Kev abnd Viv as I didn’t get to see them at the Knit and Stich this year as I was in India and spend time and money in the lovely Art Van Go shop..…(more early xmas pressies!!)

On my return to Hampshire I managed to catch up with Sarah Homfray who was in the vicinity, trotting off to West Dean no less and she inspired me with her lovely drawing every day book ..(watch our for Sarah and Caroline’ s drawing courses at the RSN…..a real treat) ….. anyway, ever the magpie, I’ve pinched that idea and have started my own book. I will keep you posted on my progress. …..currently on day 12 … only another 253 to go ……this is so not a chore…..you should definitely try it….see pages above! …. theyve come out above as my site is playing silly beggars with me again….aaargh the life of a blogger is not easy….

Also thanks to Sarah H ….who managed to update and revive my rusty shisha skills whilst we were in Gujerat ….. eternally grateful Sarah ….. I am offering a workshop on shisha mirror embroidery at the Town House in Petersfield on Thursday the 7th February (with her blessing I hasten to add…!!!) Spreading the word according to shisha!) also see picture above!!!! She also put me on to this book The Left-Handed Embroiderer’s Companion: A Step-by-step Stitch Dictionary by Yvette Stanton which is now on my christmas list..if anyone is reading this ..hint hint..

I am planning to run a series of workshops at the Town House through the first half of 2019 on traditional stitch. They will be two and half hour sessions of slow stitching where you can learn a new skill, relax in lovely surroundings and drink nice coffee into the bargain! Pre- booking is essential..there are still a few places left for the first session in February ….. I am keeping the classes small…(this would make a great Christmas pressie)

Email or call me for details.

I am now off to make a start on my 2000 word artist statement for my assessment for one of the final modules for my Masters Degree at the end of January…… and do a bit of research on Vivian Koorland….interesting…. and Ruth Loibl

O and finally , sadly I have parents evening to attend for the teenager verging on thirty year old…’shes not a child you know’….oh dear, there’s definitely a work of art in that…

PS Merry Christmas and I hope to see some of you at my work shop at the Town House in the New year.

PPS Look here in the new year for more news on my next exciting trip to India in 2020……heres a few more photos from my last trip.

PPS Enjoy your tutoring on your cruise to South Africa Sarah W…..xxx.

Choli modelling
shisha stitch
preparing puja at the temple
Ganesh – my favourite
At the temple
selection of flutes carried by a travellling musician
rogan painting looks like stich but it’s paint
making clay surround for a cow bell
indigo resist dying – shibori

Well my time at Chichester as Artist in Residence has now passed and I’ve just spent the most amazing (nearly a ) month in India travelling round Gujerat with a sneaky trip to Delhi and Agra at the end…...I would have blogged from India….but I need a new phone ..the old one does not just cut the mustard…..I did instagram though http://mycathas niceboots . It’s on my business plan now ( thank you Sarah Homfray)… need new phone..…yes dear reader I do now indeed have one – a business plan that is ..and I’ve nearly got a new phone…..just tryng to narrow it down.. (boring!!) ….so much more interesting arty things to do….

2018/19 is the year when I’m going to get all media savvy and sorted!! I’ve had my first proper PR session with my private advisor (aka the Mad canadian — who also kindly dropped me at heathrow last month for my BIG ADVENTURE….) Watch this space….don’t hold your breath though!!

I’ll also be holding my first workshop of the year in Petersfield in January……watch this space also for details.

My Gujerat trip with colourlicious was amazing – beyond all expectations and I’ll be bloggin’ more about it in my next few posts…. I have some very exciting news!!

But for now I’m concentrating on my MA exhibtion at the Otter Gallery FINAL ELEMEMT https://www.chi.ac.uk/about-us/otter-gallery/current-exhibitions which opens next week.. all welcome! Private View is on Thursday 6 til 8pm… I would attach the picture of the invite but I cant work out how to convert the ruddy pdf to a doc you can ruddy read..aaargh!!!!! Click this boring looking lookin link and you’ll see the lovley invite. A5 pv

Heres a sneaky peak of my fantastic trip……….i have alot of very beautiful phots to share..i;’ also be going to do some show and tell if anyone is interested!!!!